G3 'workflow' with adapted (MF) lenses

While waiting for my G3 to make it here (latest tracking info: "Departed Facility in BRUSSELS - BELGIUM" :smile I have skimmed trough the User Guide, this forum and the Internet in general to figure out how I might use my M42 Helios 44M and/or a bunch of K-mount lenses with the El-Cheapo adapter(s) I got/have coming from Ebay. One thing I have been wondering about has been using MF assist / magnification. Apparently this can be set to automatically kick in when the (simulated) focus ring of a native lens is moved. With an adapted lens I suppose I would need to activate this manually as needed. It would seem that this is done by pressing the switch integrated to the dial, right?

In general, what mode, AE settings, etc. / general procedure ('workflow') do you use/ prefer / find convenient with your adapted MF and the G3?

(I tried to look for pre-existing thread on the subject w. the G3 but didn't manage to find one which probably just means I can't use the site search in a clever enough fashion ).

You're getting ahead of yourself, and just making yourself anxious. Wait until you have the camera, lens, and adapter all in. Everything will work itself out, don't worry. Go outside, take a walk. Hasn't anyone ever told you, "A watched pot never boils?" Once you've gone on a photoshoot or two, if you're still confused, have questions, or have images that aren't coming out to your liking, come back and resurrect this thread.

I would recommend the use of top of the line adapters, such as voigtlander, panasonic and olympus. The cheapo adapters (along with often stiff MF lens) have lot's of slop, and are prone to galling.. and the slop will present when you focus wide open and miss lots of shots. Very similar to firearms, slop equals misses.

I would recommend the use of top of the line adapters, such as voigtlander, panasonic and olympus. The cheapo adapters (along with often stiff MF lens) have lot's of slop, and are prone to galling.. and the slop will present when you focus wide open and miss lots of shots. Very similar to firearms, slop equals misses.

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I'm not so sure about this (though admittedly I don't own any of those high end adapters). If you can get 95-99% of the performance for 10% of the cost, that seems like a good value to me.

Strikes me as silly to spend a lot on an adapter when most of the legacy lenses that people use are not necessarily high end pieces. So sure if you got leicas, go ahead and splurge on an adapter..but if it's a 50-100$ lens, why spend more on a simple piece of machined metal to hold it..

You're getting ahead of yourself, and just making yourself anxious. ...

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Hee, hee ... I'm merely trying to wring every drop of exitement I can from it ("Arrived at Sort Facility TURKU - FINLAND" :smile. Seriously, though, I was thinking along the lines of there being more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak, some of which might not be obvious to me :smile:.

I'm not so sure about this (though admittedly I don't own any of those high end adapters). If you can get 95-99% of the performance for 10% of the cost, that seems like a good value to me.

Strikes me as silly to spend a lot on an adapter when most of the legacy lenses that people use are not necessarily high end pieces. So sure if you got leicas, go ahead and splurge on an adapter..but if it's a 50-100$ lens, why spend more on a simple piece of machined metal to hold it..

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I am sure of it. Definitely spend your money on a good adapter, like Voigtlander or Kipon. The adapter will feel like a factory fit when you mount the adapter to the camera, and the lens to the adapter. I have a cheap OM adapter, and it is a very tight fit getting lenses on; I'm sure that it causes unnecessary brassing on the lens mount. The problem is, it's a crapshoot. The cheap have such non-precise manufacturing tolerances that some will be just perfect, some too tight, and some too loose. If they're too loose, as it's been said, you get missed focus because of the play in the adapter. Plus, this means that they all over-focus, meaning that they allow focus past infinity. Those cheapos are often a lot less than 99% of the performance, and it's more than 10% of the cost.

Hee, hee ... I'm merely trying to wring every drop of exitement I can from it ("Arrived at Sort Facility TURKU - FINLAND" :smile. Seriously, though, I was thinking along the lines of there being more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak, some of which might not be obvious to me :smile:.

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There's nothing to it. Just enable "shooting without lens" in the menu. Put the lens on the camera, and focus, using the magnification feature if you really want ultra-precise focus. Now seriously, stop working yourself up and don't worry about all of this. Wait until you get your equipment, because you're fretting over nothing. Go play outside or something.

I have a Novoflex adaptor which I bought to use with my Minolta MD range of lenses. It's superb - it will probably outlast me, let alone the rest of the equipment. The G3 has a v easy-to-use focus magnifier, which you can set to just magnify the area you wish to focus (central by default). The EVF makes a world of difference compared to my old GF1. Other than that I generally leave it on aperture priority, choice of tweaked Monochrome or Vivid JPEGs and I'm very happy with the results!
However, strangely enough some legacy lenses seem to work better than others on µ4/3 - for instance I used to have the Minolta 85mm f1.7, which I adored on film, but when I switched to digital I found that my (rather cheaper) Jupiter 85mm f2 gave better results. You'll just have to experiment... :smile:

Doubt that I can add anything useful to what's already been said - but here's my experience....
I bought a couple of cheapo adapters for use with my G3 - one for my old Minolta AF lenses, the other for my even older Pentax K mount lenses. The latter setup is straightforward enough, being a manual lens you just make all settings rotating the rings on the lens barrel as you did way back when. As mentioned the magnification feature is a great help here.
With the AF lenses, of course no settings can be made from the lens barrel, and fortunately the adapter (at least the one I have) enables aperture changes to be made. The thing is there are no detailed markings just 'Lock" and "Open" - the latter equates to a wide open aperture on the attached lens. By trial and error and I can judge from the clicks, an approximation of where I've set the aperture between wide open and stopped right down, on the attached lens.
In my experience it's not super precise but by trial and error you can get there, with some nice results thanks to the very tight depth of field.
Reviews I read somewhere gave high praise to the Novoflex mentioned above. However to my mind it's somewhat expensive and someone else I read somewhere suggested that once you get away from the budget adapters, you might be as well to consider one of the lenses specifically made for the m4/3 system, which gives you the benefit of AF etc. I think I go along with that, unless of course the lenses you want to make use of, are high-end from Leica or the like.

I had a few problems with some adapters being too loose when I bought them. I fixed them up with a watchmaker's screwdriver almost a year ago and haven't had a problem with fitting since despite frequent use.

I had a few problems with some adapters being too loose when I bought them. I fixed them up with a watchmaker's screwdriver almost a year ago and haven't had a problem with fitting since despite frequent use.

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